Bobbin skewer



Feb. 22, 1955 J. F. LEAVER 2,702,675

BOBBIN SKEWER Filed May 10 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1

INVENTOR. James Leaver J. F. LEAVER BOBBIN SKEWER Feb. 22, 1955 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 10 1950 INVENTOR. James F. Leaver United StatesPatent BOBBIN SKEWER James F. Leaver, Warwick, R. I.

Application May 10, 1950, Serial No. 161,062

4 Claims. (Cl. 242-130) This invention relates to bobbin skewers and isconcerned particularly with improvements in that class of bobbin skewersused to support and hold bobbins in creels of textile thread or yarnprocessing machinery.

In this type of textile machinery the bobbins containing the roving fromwhich the yarn is spun are carried by skewers which are supportedvertically in creels, the lower end of each skewer having a pointed headthe tip of which rests in a cup or concave step bearing, generally ofglass, porcelain, or similar material, on a lower creel member and theupper end of the skewer being held loosely in a suitable centeringdevice or received in a vertical hole presented by an upper creel memberarranged to maintain the vertical position of the bobbin in the creel.The pointed head is provided with an annular flange of sufficientdiameter to support the bobbin which is slipped down over the skewerstaff and rests with its bottom upon this flange. The upper part of thehead is shaped to fit within the lower end of the bore of the bobbin.

Previous to my invention, the bobbin skewers in common use usually havebeen made of an all-wood construction which form of skewer is found frompractical experience not to give entire satisfaction because of manyreasons among which is its short life due to the rough handling which itreceives, and being made entirely of wood it is easily damaged due tothe ready tendency of wood to shatter, splinter, crack or warp. It notinfrequently happens in handling the full bobbin with the skewerinserted therein, that in the haste of substituting full bobbins forempty ones in the creel, the bobbin and skewer are accidentally droppedon the floor, and

the bearing point or the bobbin supporting flange of the wooden skewerthereby broken, or the skewer itself shattered, so that the skewer isthereafter useless. Furthermore, the lower or bearing end of theordinary skewer being wholly of wood, wears rapidly and when the skewerbecomes rough and blunt at the point it runs hard and irregularly in thecreel during drawing off of the roving, and thus makes the tensionirregular or too strong, and in the latter instance frequently stretchesthe rovings too much and oftentimes causes the rovings to be pulledapart. The ordinary wooden skewers have rough exterior surfaces which,furthermore, are always more or less affected by the weather or highmoisture conditions and are apt to be further roughened thereby allowinglint and/or fly to stick to them and accumulate. One object of myinvention is to provide a bobbin skewer of simple construction havingsmooth hard exterior surfaces, not subject to splitting, splintering,cracking or becoming roughened, and more durable in use than woodenskewers previously used for like purposes.

Another object of my invention is to provide a bobbin skewer constructedof material of relatively high impact and tensile strength whereby theuseful life thereof is greatly prolonged and whereby the possibility ofbreakage or the likelihood of injury to the lower bearing point thereofwhen a loaded skewer is accidentally dropped point downwardly on a flooris practically eliminated.

Another object is to provide a bobbin skewer of the type indicatedcomprising a slender skewer staif with plastic bobbin engaging andsupporting members rigidly secured thereto and of such physical andstructural characteristics that they may be formed as uniform moldedplastic shapes, and wherein the hearing or contact surface of the lowerbearing end of the skewer will present substantially a constantcoefiicient of friction with the creel cup.

Another object is to provide a bobbin skewer of the type indicated inwhich the bearing or contact surface of the lower end of the skewer withbearing surface of the cup or step bearing in the creel will be fiat andlinear instead of as a pivot and will provide a sufiicient and uniformbraking action on the skewer and thus maintain the tension on the rovinguniform.

Another object is to provide a bobbin skewer having exterior surfacessubject to attaining a high luster and a scuff-proof finish, and formedof material with the characteristics of an insulator of staticelectricity so that there will be no tendency for lint and/or fiy to beattracted and cling thereto.

Another object is to provide a bobbin skewer of the type indicated inwhich the plastic bobbin engaging and supporting members are rigidlysecured to the skewer staff to prevent them from turning thereon orbecoming displaced longitudinally thereof.

A further object is to provide a method of afiixing the plastic bobbinengaging and supporting members to the 1 lskewer staff to secure a rigidpermanent joinder therewit With these and other objects in view whichwill appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in thecombination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forthin the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a representative form of bobbin skewerembodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the bobbin skewer shown in Fig. las it appears when placed in a creel, the bobbin with its full yarnpackage being indicated in dot and dash outline;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view, on enlarged scale, partly in elevation andpartly in vertical section, showing the upper and lower end portions ofthe bobbin skewer illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail view, on greatly enlarged scale, partly in elevationand partly in vertical section, of the lower portion of the bobbinskewer showing the novel manner of bearing contact of the tip portion ofthe pointed skewer head with the cup or step bearing therefor mounted inthe creel board;

Fig. 5 is a detail cross-sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3as viewed in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view, on greatly enlarged scale, of theupper end portion of a modified form of bobbin skewer embodying myinvention;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view in vertical section through the socket partof a lower bobbin support or head member which is formed of a rigidmolded thermoplastic synthetic resin composition showing the applicationof a solvent material to the lower wall surfaces of the socket partbefore the insertion of the lower end portion of the skewer staiftherein;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 in which the skewer staff has beeninserted partially into the socket part of the head member and justprior to contact with the solvent softened thermoplastic wall portionsof the socket part;

Fig. 9 is a View similar to Figs. 7 and 8 and illustrates the finalassembly of the parts after the skewer staff has been pressed the fulldepth of the socket and the solvent softened thermoplastic wall portionsthereof have been compressed and squeezed up along the sides of thestaff into the side notch therein to form the interlocked anchoringelement fixing the head to the skewer staff;

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 1010of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary view in vertical section through the socketpart of a lower bobbin support or head member which is formed of a rigidmolded thermosetting synthetic resin composition showing the applicationof an adhesive material to the bottom end wall of the socket part beforethe insertion of the lower end portion of the skewer staff therein;

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11 in which the skewer staif has beeninserted partially into the socket part of the head member and shownwith the end of the skewer staff positioned just short of contact withthe adhesive material at the bottom of the socket; and

Fig. 13 is a view similar to Figs. 11 and 12 but showing the finalassembly of the parts with the adhesive material squeezed up along thesides of the skewer staff and into the notch therein to firmly anchorthe parts after the adhesive has set.

Broadly stated, my invention contemplates a bobbin skewer constructionprovided with bobbin supporting members which are composed of a rigidmolded organic plastic material, and in which one of the bobbinsupporting members constitutes a head member situated at the lower endof the skewer and presenting a tapered tip which is shaped to rest uponand have annular bearing contact instead of point contact with theconcaved surface of the usual cup or step bearing for the skewer mountedin a lower bar or creel board. More specifically, the skewerconstruction includes a cylindrical staff or spindle of relativelyslender proportions which has affixed thereto but spaced from its upperend a tubular bobbin engaging member for supporting and centering theupper end of a bobbin while secured to the lower end of the staff orspindle is a pointed head member which supports and centers the lowerend of the bobbin. The bottom end of the tapered tip of said head memberis fiat and disposed in a plane at right angles to the axis of the head.The tip has bearing contact with and is supported by the concavedsurface of the lower cup or step bearing in the creel for the skewersolely by the peripheral edge of said flat end whereby a frictional dragis set up between the bearing portion of the tip of said head and thestep bearing sufficient to permit uniform draw-off of the yarn from thefull bobbin yet will prevent free spinning of the skewer in said stepbearing when the yarn supply carried by the bobbin approaches depletion.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the present improved bobbinskewer is shown as comprising a slender cylindrical staff or spindlewhich may be formed of steel rod, tubing, or even of wood, and hasaffixed thereto in spaced relation thereon upper and lower bobbinengaging and supporting members 11 and 12 which consist of rigid moldedsynthetic plastic bodies formed of a suitable thermoplastic or ofthermosetting synthetic resin composition molded under conditions ofheat and pressure to a hard smooth product of the desired shape andsize. The upper bobbin engaging member 11 is shown as being of tubularshape formed with a tapering upper end 13 and is affixed to the staff 10so as to be well spaced from the upper end thereof but situated at theproper position on the staff 10 to support and center the upper end of abobbin when the same is slipped down over the skewer with the lower endof the bobbin resting upon the lower bobbin engaging and supportingmember or head 12. The upper end portion 14 of the staff 10 projectingaxially beyond the upper bobbin supporting member 11 is adapted to besuitably journaled in a top bar or an upper creel board 15, as shown inFig. 2.

The lower bobbin engaging and supporting member or head 12 is fast onthe lower end of the staff 10 and is shown in Figs. 3 and 4 as beingprovided with a fiat annular flange or shoulder 16 on its upper side tosupport the bottom end of a bobbin 16, see Fig. 2, and the upper part 17is rounded to provided a button which fits within the lower end of thebobbin. The lower part of the bobbin support 12 is formed as a surfaceof revolution and tapers downwardly on a concave curve to terminate inthe pointed bearing tip portion 18. As shown in Fig. 4, the end of thetip 18 is fiat transversely thereof, as indicated at 19, and has annularbearing contact with the concaved surface of the cup or step bearing 20for the skewer, mounted in a lower bar or creel board 21, only at thecircular boundary edge of said tip where its flat bottom end meets withthe concave side surface of the tip 18. The area of this flat end 19 ismade such that the peripheral edges thereof will provide a substantiallyuniform frictional drag between the bearing portion of the tip 18 andthe concaved surface 22 of the cup or step bearing 20 to permit uniformdraw-off of the yarn from the full bobbin yet will be sufficient toprevent the skewer from spinning loosely in said step bearing when theyarn supply carried by the bobbin approaches depletion.

Among the essential or desirable properties of my bobbin skewer arethose of being substantially static-free, having high impact and tensilestrength and high resist- 4 ance to abrasion, and presenting exteriorsurfaces of high luster and scuff-proof finish to which lint and/ or flywill not stick and cling. The thermosetting synthetic resins which Whenmolded into their final rigid hardened state under conditions of heatand pressure are found to possess these essential or desirableproperties. The thermosetting phenolic molding compositions commerciallyknown under the trade names of Bakelite, Durez are examples of plasticmolding compositions which may be used satisfactorily for forming therigid molded plastic bobbin support members 11 and 12. Such plasticbobbin engaging and supporting members may be made of rigid moldedthermoplastic material, if desired, but such material does not possessthe high resistance to wear and freedom from static charges as thethermosetting plastics.

By use of rigid molded plastic products for the bobbin supportingmembers 11 and 12 the connection of these members to the staff 10 ismade feasible by the action of either a solvent on the plastic bodieswhere the members 11 and 12 are formed of a thermoplastic material, orby use of an adhesive material where the parts are formed of athermosetting plastic. As shown in Fig. 3, the upper bobbin supportmember 11 is provided with an axial bore 25 therethrough which bore iscylindrical when the member is formed of a thermosetting plastic.However, when the member 11 is formed of a thermoplastic material, thebore 25 is provided with a slight taper and becomes gradually smallertoward the end 13 and is of an order such that at substantially themedian plane of the member 11 the bore will have substantially the samediameter as the staff or spindle 10. The upper end of the button 17 ofthe bobbin supporting member 12 is recessed inwardly to provide a socket36 (see Figs. 7 and 11) the walls of which, when the member 12 is formedof a thermoplastic material, taper and become gradually smaller towardthe bottom of the socket whereby at a point substantially in the planecontaining the annular shoulder 16 the socket will have substantiallythe same diameter as the lower end of the staff or spindle 10, as shownin Fig. 8. The socket 28, however, will be provided with a cylindricalbore when the member 12 is formed of a thermosetting plastic, see Figs.11, 12 and 13. The staff 10 is provided with upper and lower exteriornotches 30 and 31 respectively, see Figs. 3 and 4, formed therein atpoints which will be situated in the aforesaid median planes when thebobbin supporting members 11 and 12 respectively are affixed to thestaff 10. The connection between the bobbin supports 11 and 12 and thestaff 10 is effected in interlocking fashion with the respective notchesthereof as indicated at 32 and 33 in Fig. 3 by either a solvent lock 34(see Figs. 7, 8 and 9) or by an adhesive lock 35, see Figs. 11, 12 and13, with the inner surface of the bore 25 of the bobbin supportingmember 11 and the socket 28 of the bobbin supporting member 12respectively, the solvent softened thermoplastic material and theadhesive material respectively forming a permanent bond with the skewerstaff to prevent the parts from turning thereon or from being displacedlongitudinally thereof.

In Figs. 7, 8, and 9 there is shown one method of fixedly securing thehead member 12 to the lower end of the staff 10, and also illustratingthe finished article resulting therefrom. Thus, in Fig. 7 there is shownthe lower section of the staff 10 and a fragmentary section of the headmember 12 containing the socket part thereof to be connected with thestaff 10. In practicing the method of Figs. 7 to 9, the head 12 which isformed of thermoplastic organic material has applied to the lowertapered wall portions and the bottom end of the socket 36 a layer orcoating 37 of a suitable resin solvent, such as acetone, celluloseacetate, or cellulose nitrate of a satisfactory consistency to bebrushed in application. The lower end portion of the staff 10 isprovided with a tapered fiat or slab portion 38, see Figs. 7 and 10,extending from the lower curve of the notch 31 to the tip of the staff,and the various diameters of the staff end portion and the socket 36 areso designed that the bottom end edge of the staff can be placed so thatit will make circumferential contact with the solvent softenedthermoplastic material of the tapered side walls of the socketapproximately midway between the top and bottom thereof. When thisoccurs, the lower end of the staff 10 is further forced axially into thesocket to substantially the full depth thereof and the solvent softenedthermoplastic wall portions thereof will have been compressed by thelower end of the staff and squeezed up along the sides of the stafi intothe side notch 31 therein to form the interlocking anchoring element 34when set and fixing the head 12 to the skewer staff against rotationthereon.

In Figs. 11, 12 and 13 are shown another method of making the assemblyand joining the head 12 to the lower end portion of the staff 10. Onthis alternative method, a suitable adhesive material 40 is applied tothe bottom end of the socket 36 -of the head member 12 which, in thiscase, is formed of a molded thermosetting resin composition. The sidewalls of the socket 36 are cylindrical instead of tapering, and thevarious diameters of the lower end of the staff and the socket 36 are sodesigned that there will be provided a slight clearance between the twomembers into which the adhesive material 40 will be forced by the lowerend of the staff on being forced axially into the socket to the finalposition illustrated in Fig. 13.

Referring to Fig. 6 of the drawing, a modified form of bobbin skewerembodying the invention is illustrated. In this form, the upper tubularbobbin support 41 of rigid molded organic material is fixedly secured bya suitable adhesive material 42 to the upper end portion of a tubularstafi or spindle 43. The outer periphery of the tubing is indented onone side, as by providing it with a transverse exterior notch or crease44 therein, which when filled with the adhesive material 42 provides theinterlocked anchoring element 45 permanently securing the bobbin supportin a non-rotatable manner on the hollow staff or spindle 43.

It will be observed from the foregoing specification that the presentinvention provides a novel and improved form of bobbin skewer which isof simple and compact construction to adapt it for economicalmanufacture, has uniform frictional characteristics on its bearingsurfaces, is clean-running, is non-conducting with respect to staticelectricity and thereby has no tendency to attract lint and/ or fly, isnon-absorptive with respect to oil or lubricants, is true-running, andhas no tendency to warp. Furthermore, the bobbin engaging and supportingmembers 11 and 12 being constructed of rigid molded plastic shapesprovide portions on the skewer staff which are of extremely strong anddense structure, proof against injury under continuous use, but in whichthe plastic material nevertheless is somewhat resilient so that if theskewer is subjected to rough handling, such as by being dropped on acement floor, or by being brought forcefully into contact with adjacentobjects, it will resist severe impact without splitting, chipping,splintering or denting as is the case with ordinary bobbin skewers madeentirely of wood. Furthermore, all exterior portions of the improvedskewer present a smooth surface to which lint and/ or fly will not stickand accumulate. The plastic members 11 and 12 may be molded inaccordance with any particular contour and dimensions, as desired, andalso may comprise either compression molded thermosetting plastic shapesor injection molded thermoplastic bodies without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention.

While I have illustrated and described two difierent embodiments of theinvention I recognize that many additional modifications and variationsof my invention are possible without departing from the spirit or thescope of the invention as it is defined by the appended claims.Therefore, it should be understood that I do not wish to be limited tothe particular forms shown, or to the details or construction thereof,and that the forms of the invention herein illustrated and described areintended to be illustrative only and not limiting the scope of theinvention.

Having described my invention what is claimed is:

1. In combination, a creel step bearing member having a concave topbearing surface, and a skewer having a lower bobbin supporting memberincluding a pointed portion the tip of which rests upon and runs in saidconcave bearing surface of said creel step, the lower end of the tip ofthe pointed portion of said bobbin supporting member being a fiatcircular surface disposed at right angles to the longitudinal axis ofthe skewer and having sufficient area whereby the operative bearingcontact made by said tip with the concave bearing surface of said creelstep bearing member is solely at a fiat annular portion of said tip endsurface bordering its periphery.

2. In combination, a creel step bearing member having a concave topbearing surface, and a bobbin skewer having its lower end looselyreceived in and supported by said concave step bearing surface, saidbobbin skewer including a vertical statf with a head member fast on thelower end of the stafi and having a pointed portion the tip of whichforms the lower bearing end of the skewer, the end of said tip havingannular bearing engagement at its pe ripheral edge with said concavestep bearing surface and at no other point therewith.

3. In combination, a creel step bearing member having a concave topbearing surface, and a bobbin skewer including a vertical staff with ahead member fast on the lower end of said staff and having a pointedportion the tip of which rests upon and turns in said concave bearingsurface of said creel step member, the lower end of the tip of saidpointed head portion terminating in a flat annular surface adjoining itsperipheral edge having operative bearing engagement with the concavebearing surface of said creel step bearing member and forming the solebearing contact of the skewer therewith.

4. A skewer for use in rotatively supporting a textile bobbin upon acreel step bearing having a concave top supporting surface, said skewercomprising a staff provided with an upper tubular bobbin engaging memberspaced from the upper end of the staff, and a pointed head member faston the lower end of said stafi for supporting the lower end of a bobbin,the tip of said pointed head forming the lower bearing end of the skewerand terminating in a fiat circular end surface of sufiicient area toprovide an annular portion bordering its peripheral edge to rest againstand form the sole bearing contact of the skewer with the concavesupporting surface in the top of the creel step bearing member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS257,419 Warrener May 2, 1882 284,429 Jaquith Sept. 4, 1883 414,930Warrener Nov. 12, 1889 704,584 Schofield July 15, 1902 1,239,139 TaylorSept. 4, 1917 1,245,620 Re)? Nov. 6, 1917 2,230,011 Pearson Jan. 28,1941 2,589,545 Harvey Mar. 18, 1952

